Several days passed since I happened to meet Phil and the princess at the soiree.
“Lady Viola, are you sure you can do this by yourself?”
“Yes. Today, I plan on returning as soon as I hand him the letter and snacks.”
I’d decided to deliver food to Phil today as well, and I turned down my maid when she offered to come with me. I got off the carriage that had parked right in front of the palace, then I walked through the grounds, hoping that Phil would enjoy what I’d made.
“Ah.”
That was when the ribbon I used to tie my hair suddenly slipped loose. I quickly picked it up and then sat down on a nearby bench, setting the basket next to me. Even though I wouldn’t be able to spend more than a few minutes with him, I still dressed up because I wanted Phil to find me cute. A part of it was also because I saw just how beautiful Princess Luna was. I wanted to head to the meeting room after fixing myself up as best as I could, so I started to tie my hair into a loose braid. That was when I heard two people start conversing from behind me.
“Man, did you see Lord Phillip and Her Highness today? They were so cute.”
“Right? Everyone is so on edge in the meeting room, but looking in their direction makes me feel better.”
I glanced over at them. It seemed that the two men behind me were Phil’s coworkers in the meeting room, and they were the heirs of upper-class nobles. They were resting on the bench behind mine. Since they were talking about Phil and the princess, it seemed that Rex wasn’t the only person who enjoyed watching the pair.
“I saw Phil and Her Highness walking around hand in hand yesterday. It was adorable.”
“Huh?”
The word slipped out and I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand. To my relief, they didn’t seem to notice.
Phil and the princess were walking around hand in hand?
I couldn’t believe it, and yet, I could feel my heart starting to pick up speed. I was completely frozen like a statue, but I could still hear their conversation.
“Last week, I saw Her Highness fall asleep while hugging onto Lord Phillip. Lord Phillip was doing his best not to wake her up, so he kept working despite how uncomfortably he had to sit. I’m a man too, but seeing the way Lord Phillip acted got my heart racing.”
Whaaaa...?
I didn’t know that Phil and the princess were that close. I couldn’t help but feel like that was a bit too much physical contact between a man, especially one with a fiancée, and another woman. I felt a stabbing pain in my heart and I couldn’t move, as if my body was pinned to the spot.
“Lord Phillip bought Her Highness some snacks today, and she was so happy. If Lord Phillip hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve brought the snacks back to the Samarind Empire with her.”
“It warms my heart just imagining the scene.”
I was starting to suspect that the “Lord Phillip” they were talking about was a completely different person from the “Phillip Lawrenson” I was familiar with. That was how unbelievable their stories were.
No, I simply don’t want to believe them.
Besides, Phillip hated women touching him more than anything in the world. I was the only person he was fine with, but that was because he liked me. I couldn’t imagine that he allowed the princess to touch him for that reason though, because I knew how earnest and straightforward Phil was.
I knew all of this. But the bubbly feeling I had earlier was completely gone. I couldn’t see my face, but I knew I was making a horribly dispirited expression. Phil was more sensitive to the changes in my emotions than anyone else, and I knew that I’d worry him if I were to meet with him now. He was busy enough with work, I didn’t need to add to his stress by making him anxious.
With that thought in mind, I stood up with the basket in hand, and returned the way I came.
“Welcome back, Lady Viola. You came back very quickly.”
“Yes, I did.”
I didn’t want my maid to worry either, so I hid the fact that the basket was still full. As we headed home together in the carriage, I gently rested my head against the window.
“There’s no way Phil would cheat on me,” I murmured to myself.
Phil was so honest about his feelings for me that it felt rude to even question him. I knew how much he loved me too. But still, the uncomfortable emotions stirring in my chest refused to fade away.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hi there! I want to go to the menagerie with Phillip too!”
“Sorry, Phillip. I accidentally told her about your trip.”
After I ate lunch and returned to the meeting room, I saw Princess Adele and Rex standing before me. Princess Adele’s eyes were sparkling as she looked up at me, and behind her, Rex was poking his tongue out with an expression that said “Oops!” Unlike Princess Adele, he didn’t look cute at all.
It seemed that he told her about the trip to the menagerie I had with Viola the other day. Princess Adele seemed really interested in it, and she was grabbing onto my sleeve, repeatedly talking about how much she wanted to go.
“Apparently, she had a huge fight with Princess Luna this morning. She looked so down that I was desperate to come up with a fun topic to talk about,” Rex whispered in my ear before putting his hands together in a gesture of apology.
“I see...”
It was true that while Princess Adele had a smile on her face, she didn’t seem as energetic as usual. It was rare for the two of them to fight, since they were so close. Instead of spending time pondering about that, I bent down so that I could directly meet Princess Adele’s eyes.
“I’ve read a lot of picture books about animals, but I seldom have the chance to see a real one,” Princess Adele said. “Can we go?”
“All right. We’ll go sometime soon.”
“When’s ‘sometime soon’?”
“It’s some time in the near future.”
“Rex told me that when adults say that, they’re actually saying no.”
I didn’t respond, instead glaring up at him. It seemed like Rex had the habit of telling Princess Adele things that she didn’t need to know. Behind her, he gently knocked his fist against the side of his head in a gesture of apology, and then poked his tongue out again.
Yeah, he’s still not cute.
“Please, can we go?” Princess Adele asked again.
I was a little surprised. Princess Adele would usually listen to reason, so it was rare that she refused to budge. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take her to the menagerie, I simply had too much work. I told her that and she nodded.
“All right, I understand!” she exclaimed before she left the room.
Fifteen minutes later, her servant, who looked exhausted, walked in with Princess Adele at his side. In contrast to how he looked, Princess Adele had a wide smile on her face.
“Now, let’s get going! I asked His Majesty to give us permission to leave. Don’t worry about work! Warren will fill in for you.”
Do I really not have anything to worry about? With that thought in mind, I looked over at Warren.
“I’ll do my best,” he said tonelessly.
He’d been cleaning up after the princess’s messes so often that he seemed older than when we first met.
“I’m gonna go get ready, so can we meet up in about thirty minutes?” Princess Adele asked me.
“All right,” I replied.
I no longer had any reason to turn her down, so I nodded at the princess as she excitedly ran out of the room.
“Wow, things sure moved fast. Are you sure you’re okay?” Rex asked me.
“Yes. Going to the menagerie is far better than continuing to do desk work here.”
I lightly stretched my arms over my head after I replied to Rex. As long as nothing affected my day off tomorrow, when I could finally spend time with Viola, I didn’t care what happened. I gave orders for what work should be done in my absence, and then started to prepare for the outing.